A short documentary created by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on a 2016 oil spill has won a special jury award at the 52nd WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.
On March 10, 2016, a 15,487-tonne cargo ship owned by TS Lines Co that carried 392 containers — nine of which contained hazardous substances — and 505 tonnes of fuel and oil ran aground about 250m off New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門), polluting the sea and coastal area.
The 21 crew members aboard the TS Taipei were quickly rescued, but National Airborne Services Corps pilot Lin Chen-hsing (林振興) and coast guard member Tsai Tsung-ta (蔡宗達) died during a rescue operation the next day, when a helicopter piloted by Lin crashed into the sea.
Photo courtesy of the Environmental Protection Administration
The 13-minute film, produced by the EPA and Geographic Information Technology Co, details efforts to clean the spill and remove the ship over 159 days.
It also includes a scene in which residents blast the government for being unable to completely extract the oil and compensate tourism losses.
The scene occurred at a meeting on the 16th day after the incident with then-premier Simon Chang (張善政), who asked them to think about the two sacrificed rescuers.
The producers received the award last week at a ceremony in Houston, Texas.
Department of Water Quality Protection Deputy Director-General Liu Jui-hsiang (劉瑞祥) yesterday said that the award is an honor, but it is painful to recall the incident.
It was the most serious instance of marine pollution in 10 years, he said, adding that the EPA had mobilized more than 10,000 people to clean up the spill.
Nonetheless, it is great to see that Shihmen’s coastal area has been restored to its former beauty after months of toil, he said, adding that it was also a valuable experience setting up a response mechanism for such a large-scale pollution incident.
Management of marine pollution has been transferred from the department to the Ocean Affairs Council, which was established last year, Liu added.
An English-language version of the film can be accessed at https://youtu.be/IZUWzGJyENM.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
RSS